England captain Steven Gerrard retires from international football

England captainSteven Gerrard has retired from international football.

The Liverpool football star announced on Monday that he was calling time on an England career of 14 years and 114 caps, the third-highest total in the country”s history.

“This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I”ve had to make in my career,” said the 34-year-old.

“I have agonised over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game before coming to this point.

“Most importantly Brendan [Rodgers] has been fantastic and obviously I have to look after my body as much as possible to ensure I can give everything when I take to the field.

To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision.”

Steven, whose retirement was widely anticipated after England was kicked out of the Brazil World Cup surprisingly early, added: “The most important thing for me was not to make an emotional decision or rash decision.

I was asked questions before, during and after the World Cup to make a decision on my future and it wasn”t the right time.”

The mid-fielder, who is third behind Peter Shilton and David Beckham in England”s all-time appearance list, made the big decision after taking a relaxing break with his wife Alex and their daughters Lilly-Ella, 10, Lexie, eight, and Lourdes, three, in Spanish island Ibiza last week.